Flowerhorn cichlid

Floweric hybrid
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae (or...)

Resemble the Chinese god of longevity, and it is believed that the owners luck will grow if the fish's hump grows. The adult males are thus the most commercially valuable. Flowerhorns have distinctive markings on their sides, which can be interpreted as recognizable symbols. It is also noteworthy that the original species from which these cichlids were hybridized also display a number of these traits.

The market for Flowerhorns exhibited a classic boom and bust cycle of the phenomenon, with rarity at the start and a huge oversupply at the end. The height of the outburst was in 2003, and was mainly in several countries in Southeast Asia.

Flowerhorns are hardy and very undemanding fish to keep in an aquarium. They do, however, require large aquariums due to their large size - they can grow up to 16 inches (40 cm) long. They are aggressive and carnivorous, and thus can only be kept with other large fish. Cannot be bred with other species of smaller fish.

The origin of flowerhorn

1993 -Malaysians admired fishes with protruding head, known as Karoi, in the western part of Malaysia, also known as warship. In Taiwan, this fish has a slight protruding forehead and long tail, and is widely accepted in the Chinese society which brings luck in geomancy.

1994 - The import of Red Devil also known as human face and Blood Parrot from Taiwan to Malaysia mark the birth of flowerhorn.

1995 - With the introduction of 1994 birth of flowerhorn this has lead to the blood parrot being crossbreed with the Human Face Red God of Fortune which produced a new species called five-colors god of fortune. With its beautiful colors, it has brought an overwhelming response.

1998 - It has further improved with the import of seven-colors blue fiery mouth, from South America, known as Greenish Gold Tiger and Jin Gang Blood Parrot from Taiwan. This crossbreeding was a success, leading to the first generation of flowerhorns hjj named Hua Luo Han which is then followed by subsequent flowerhorn developments.

1998 - It has further improved with the import of seven-colours blue fiery mouth, from South America, known as Greenish Gold Tiger and Jin Gang Parrot from Taiwan. This crossbreeding was a success, leading to the first generation of flowerhorns, named Hua Luo Han which is then followed by subsequent flowerhorn developments. The flowerhorn arena still continues till today.

Arrival In the US

When flowerhorn first arrived there were really only 2 breeds of these fish for distribution, flowerhorn and jk’s. Flowerhorn came in 2 varieties those with pearls and those with out. Jk’s also had two varieties, those that faded and those that didn’t. With the flowerhorns, the ones w/o pearls were quickly over taken by those with pearls, so then it became pearl scale flowerhorn (zhen zhou). With the jk’s the unfaded ones developed nice golden skin over the flowerhorn’s grey skin.

So at 1999 there were 4 strains of flowerhorn hitting the American market, regular flowerhorn, pearl scale flowerhorn, golden flowerhorn, and jk’s. there were so many breeders that these 4 strains had so many different names and minor variations, that names became a joke. No importer wanted to hear a name but rather look at the fish. Knowing this the breeders and exporters started line breeding going for better quality traits and so fourth. The pearl scale flowerhorn beat out regular flowerhorn and became Zhen Zhu’s

About now it’s 2000-2001 and kamfa hit the scene. These were hybrids of any type of flowerhorn crossed with any vieja or parrot. These guys brought on some new traits people became interested with. Short mouths, tail wrap, sucked in eyes, and of course bigger kok’s. seeing this those guys who had the GM’s began to line breed there fish to have similar traits. Those who had the Zhen Zhu’s wanted to completely dominate the market and began line breeding there fish to develop faster and become more colorful. This meant that they could have a fish that could compete with the kamfa strains.

Care

PH

Early Flowerhorns

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  Coronation Link
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  Tornado Effect
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  Perfect Harmony
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  Unique Track
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  Absolute Wonder
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  Ancient Warship
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  Creative Measure
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  Exotic Marvel
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  Legacy
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  Living Legend
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  Pacific Miracle
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  Quantum Grace
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  Rising Rainbow
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  Royal Degree
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  Scarlet Passion

Flowerhorn Breeds

A more general classification. Could contain several subsets of strains from different countries and breeders. The Four main breeds of flowerhorn are: Zhen Zhu, GM, Kamfa, JK (goldenbase)

King Kong Parrots, Ingots

Informations courtesy of www.happybreed.com The differences between Red Mommon, Red Ingot and Blood Parrot, King Kong Parrot

Blood Parrot is the earliest defined type of the Cichlid bred, King Kong Parrot is the typical type of Cichlid hybrid at earlier stage, therefore, King Kong parrot has been comparing with latest hybrid Cichlid; but the Blood Parrot’s shape is smaller, with bigger head, more protruding eyes and V-shape mouth; King Kong Parrot has longer size with reddish orange

colour, dorsal fin are shorterthan anal fin, the shape is similar to the Red Devil, when it grows to the size of 18 cm, the shape of the mouth changes to triangle with more protruding jaw, only 20% of them grow to the size of half kilogram.

Most of the colour of Blood Parrot and King Kong Parrots seen in the market are changed into purple and blue by pigment injection, and this is not good for the fish’s liver and will shorten their life, the colour injected will not last for a long time, once the colour fades, it will not be recovered to the original one. The Blood Parrot and King Kong Parrots bred in the “Happy Fishery Breed & Research Centre” has the natural red colour as it fed with the natural attractants instead of the pigment injection. The length of the dorsal fin and anal fin is longer than the tail fin and the mouth can open and close naturally, the shape is round and big with clear eyes and good stability, 90% of them grow to 1 kg or above with characteristic look in appearance, chin and shape.

The red and round refined Red Mommon, Red Ingot is the majority type of Cichlid bred due to the popular refinery trend in the market, furthermore, there’s only one famous fish breeding farm exclusively produces it and the supply is stable with good quality. Both of the fishes are the best choice for appreciation, breeding or Feng Shui(geomantic omen).

The Red Mommon is named for its high forehead which looks like the hat worn by the God of Fortune, the Red Ingot is named for its Yuan-Bao shape (odd-shaped gold or silver formerly used as money in China) appearance which looks like the Yuan-Bao, The reason Mr. Wang named Red Mommon and Red Ingot is because of its well-liked red colour. Kavalan is the ancient name of the I-Lan city, people will know the fish is produced in I-Lan and this is certainly the pride of Taiwan in its fish breeding industry.

Red Mommon and Red Ingot grow faster in the first year with the size at about 20cm, it will grow to 25 to 28cm two year later, however, it’s maximum growing size is not known yet as it’s still continue to grow and it’s believed that the fish may grow to the size of 30cm or above in the future. It’s suggested to breed both of the fish at 28C in water temperature, PH6~8,KH3~6. Basically, the fish is strong to be well adapted to the surrounding unless of the quick change of the water quality. To maintain the best colour, it’s suggested to breed them in slightly acid water; it’s also necessary to test the NH3, NH4, NO2 regularly for the concern of it’s health and colour.

Both of the fishes can be bred with different kind of fishes attributes to its gentle characteristic, especially outstanding with Dragon Fish, it brings out extraordinary Character and looks thus it makes the hit among aquarium world

Golden Monkey

The real Golden Monkey or KAMALAU is bred by Mr. Lam Seah and Lam Soon in Bercham, Ipoh, Malaysia. The last Generation is GEN 3 and all of them were sold to A-1 Aquarium during the year 2001. This type of flowerhorn is a LOUHAN based fish and not a mixed type Zenzhu or Kamfa

Kamfa

This breed originated from Louhan. It's main characteristics are white or yellow eye (red eyes possible but not common), fan tail, water head, sunken eyes, smaller lips than Zhen Zhu. This breed carries more of the syn characteristics from the 4 pure cichlids. Generally has a larger and more square body shape than that of a Zhen Zhu. Head flowers can be found on the Kamfa, but not as prevalently as Zhen Zhu.

Zhen Zhu

comes slightly after Kamfa, made from Louhan, rounded tail, large mouth, red protruding eyes, head flower, all three kok types apply hard/water/semi, most closely carries the genes of the trimac of the 4 cichlids used to create flowerhorns, zhen zhou means 'Pearl Flowerhorn' breed's strongest characteristic is pearling. Breeders often cross with Zhen Zhu because they breed easily and can create better pearling for the next generation. Weak tail can also carry over

Golden Base (Faders)

(Faders)- called that because during juvenile period of life they will loose their color and go completely black. As the fading process occurs the black "fades" away leaving a more vibrant and beautiful color underneath. Usually yellow or red. Overseas they are referred to as "Golden Base". A 'golden trimac' is a raw cross where the fish typically ends up looking like a trimac but red and yellow in color.

Red Texas - Belongs to the Golden base family of flowerhorns. To people and Thailand, Red texas are a completely different hybrid all together separate from Flowerhorns and are almost a different hobby in and of themselves. Originally created by breeding a Green Texas with a Mammon or King Kong Parrot, then crossing back the offspring to the parents until a nice consistent red color is achieved. The most important feature of the Red Texas is quite obviously the color. Red Texas range in colors including:

- unfaded: low grade of RT - yellow: second lowest grade - Orange: majority of RT fall into this category - Coral: pinkish but not quite full red - Red: Most desirable color

The second characteristic that sets the Red Texas apart is the pearling. Red Texas can vary greatly in terms of type of pearling. There are three main types to consider when dealing with RT:

- Cyano or Dot pearls: These pearls come straight from one of the original 4 pure species cichlids used to create flowerhorn, Herichthys cyanoguttatus.

King Kamfa

From the kamfa family this fish typically has white or yellow eyes, red eye is possible but rare. Main feature of the breed is intense black double flower row and very thick wide white pearling. Orginating in Thailand this breed has seen a recent re-birth in vietnam. Body is typical of that of a Kamfa, fan tail, longer body than some other kamfas. Most closely follows the kamfa description above.

Kamfamalau

mix of a Golden Monkey and Kamfa Female with Malau features. Body and face typify that of a typical Golden Monkey (see above) Finnage and sunken eye reflect the Kamfa genes. Main feature of a Kamfamalau is the pearling. Finnage typically takes on a 'frosted' pearl look to it rarely found in any other breed of flowerhorn. Pearling usually crosses all the way across the kok another rarity in flowerhorn breeds. This breed should represent the best characteristics of both kamfa and malau

Flowerhorn Strains

A more specific subset within a particular breed. Can get as specific as all coming from specific individual parent fish. Strains can also differ by country of origin and breeder.

JPG or Golden Apple

Created by Ah Soon of Malaysia these fish were characterised by a large stock body as well as metallic pearling.

IndoMalau

Created by ILC or indonesian louhan club, proprietary breed of the world famous ILC using a Golden monkey (or Malau) female and Zhen Zhu Malau (Zhen Zhu bred with a Golden Monkey) for the first batch that was sent to the US. Second batch spawned from the legendary Elvis and Golden Monkey female. Breed characterized by wild pearling all over the body, face, and head. What separates an IndoMalau's pearls from that of say a Zhen Zhu or a King Kamfa is that they are extremely fine. As the fish ages the pearls become more intricately woven and thinner. Prototypical dot-dash patterns found on Golden Monkey as well. Flowerlines vary dramatically some only have a few flower spots. Most ILC IndoMalaus will include some singular flowers on the back line or "top row". Red front half covers from the pectoral fins forwards, back half is a golden gradient intensifying in color towards the back half of the fish. Body is very wide and high a throwback to the original Louhan. Very pronounced chin or 'gobbler'. Head is usually a forward protruding water kok. Tail is fan shaped close to that of a kamfa, dorsal and anal fins lack trailers (a common trait found in Zhen Zhu) Caudle penduncle is very large and pronounced in this breed, this helps prevent developement of drop tail

Elvis

Tan King

Created by Mr. Tan of VN, created by crossing a Zhen Zhu with a Kamfa. Breed has pearls and flowerline like that of a king kamfa, but body and finnage is more closely related to the Zhen Zhu description above. Most have protruding eyes like that of a Zhen Zhu and a more rounded tail also like the Zhen Zhu

Criticism

The sudden mania caused huge surplus stock, some of which was dumped in the wild, where they survived and caused havoc in the riverine ecosystems, such as in Malaysia. Flowerhorns are regarded negatively by many cichlid hobbyists in the West for a number of reasons. First, they make identification of similar cichlids difficult, if not impossible with older generations of flowerhorns. Due to the difficulty with identifications, this can cause breeding with other pure bloodlines of cichlids. This has already occurred in a number of cichlids and other fishes commonly kept in the hobby. Secondly, flowerhorns contribute to the demand for “new” and “different” fish that may lead to questionable practices such as breeding for deformed anatomical fish similarly to the current state of goldfish breeding.

The above statements are disputed due to lack of evidence. There are reports of flowerhorns with no commercial value released into Nature http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01027/environmental.html. Another reference states flowerhorns have been found in Nature citing interview with Persatuan Memancing Malaysia member http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=31&art_id=iol1045231471487W253&set_id=1. Also, read case study on this page http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/Soodhanan_Flowerhorns.html. The case report is one paragraph written in first person and thus author is claiming firsthand knowledge of ecological damage as the result of unethical behavior of a flowerhorn keeper. The evidence shows that some flowerhorn breeders and keepers are unethical and that flowerhorns threaten native species following unethical behavior.

However, severe criticism is reserved for placing flowerhorns into fish taxa in the first place. Flowerhorns are man made fish. Taxa are reserved for identification of living things found in Nature.

External links

Additional Information

• Flowerhorn Craze - the fastest growing Flowerhorn Community!
• Flowerhorns R Us - Flowerhorn Community
• MonsterFish Keepers - Flowerhorn/hybrid section
• Flowerhorn USA - Flowerhorn Community

Flowerhorn Vendors & Products

• Flowerhorns for sale - San Diego's only place to buy Flowerhorns and exotic fishes
• Aquatic Wonderland, TX
• Flowerhorns From Beyond, Ca (Transshipper)
• Chingmix Premium Flowerhorn Pellets